Sunday, 16 October 2016

Hello everyone! Sorry I haven't posted anything for a while, things have been busy! My friend Floss cooked an amazing soup for me this week that I thought I ought to recreate and share - all credit goes to her. It is super fresh and tasty, with very few ingredients and perfect for October.

Ingredients (serves 4)

- 2 red onions, chopped

- 3 cloves of garlic, chopped in half

- 3 carrots, roughly chopped

- 2 sweet potatoes, roughly chopped with their skins on

- 1/4 medium pumpkin or 1/2 a small one, peeled and roughly chopped

- 1 chilli, chopped with or without seeds depending on your spice tolerance

Saturday, 13 February 2016

With very little prep and hassle, you can make these sweet tasty bites and wow the special someone on the receiving end. They are probably the quickest tasty treat I have ever made...and cheap too, with only 4 ingredients! They are not the healthiest things however, but who doesn't like a naughty something once and a while.

Ingredients (makes 8 large chocolates)

- 400g chocolate, around 52% cocoa (very cheap from Lidl!)

- 2 tbsp smooth peanut butter (or dairy free nut butter if preferred)

- 1 tsp maple syrup or natural sweet syrup such as 'Sweet Freedom'

- goji berries to decorate

You will need silicone moulds, so that the chocolates come out easily. Mini cupcake cases would also work.

1. Place all of the chocolate into a glass bowl resting on a saucepan with a little water in it. Heat up the saucepan to melt the chocolate, stirring occasionally. When the choc is melted, after around 3 minutes, pour a little into your moulds - about 1 1/2 tbsp each depending on the size of your mould, or 1/2 tsp if using mini cupcake cases.

2. Put the chocolate in the freezer for a few minutes while you prepare the peanut butter filling.

3. Mix together the peanut butter and sweetner. If you find it won't mix, heat it up a little in a pan.

4. By this time, the chocolate in the freezer should be nice and hard. Remove it and spoon 1 tsp of peanut butter filling in the centre. Return them to the freezer for another few minutes.

5. If the chocolate that was heated up has gone a bit hard, pop it back on the hob to heat it up.

6. Finally, once the peanut butter filling has hardened, remove them from the freezer and place another 2 tbsp of chocolate on top, levelling the cups out as much as possible. Decorate with a few goji berries, nut sprinkles or rose petals before returning them to the freezer for a final set - around 2 hours.

7. If you have used silicone moulds, the chocolates should pop out extremely easily. The outside should be nice and hard, and the centre all gooey and delicious.

Curries are a perfect thing to cook when it is grey and cold outside, the smell can make you feel like you’re immersed in India! They're also very simple and cost effective when you have all the spices and ingredients ready in the cupboard, as well as being much healthier than buying pre-made sauces. It’s useful to keep chillies in the freezer, so they’re available when you need them. The sweet potato can always be swapped for butternut squash or aubergine and the good thing about curry is it doesn't matter what vegetables you use. Don't be afraid to experiment.

Friday, 29 January 2016

Salads aren’t just for summer! This is a great dish if you’re craving something light, healthy and refreshing after a heavy winter. The sweet flavours of mango team nicely with the sharp rocket and tangy dressing to make an easy salad which you’ll want to make time and time again.

Wednesday, 27 January 2016

After a long days work, we know it can be hard to motivate yourself to cook something fresh and healthy for dinner. This recipe however will change that attitude. It is quick and easy to create, as well as being super healthy and delicious.

Contrary to potato mash, celeriac mash is packed with interesting flavours, and therefore needs no butter or dairy to liven it up - perfect for the health conscious or those with dairy intolerances. Any leftover pea puree can be used again during the week to smother over fish for baking, or coat chicken for grilling.

Tuesday, 19 January 2016

I have made this super simple recipe a few times now, and it always seems to blow people away. Unfortunately I can't take credit for it, as it was in one of my mum's old cookbooks. Hope you like it!

Ingredients (serves 8)

for the frangipane -

225g unsalted butter

225g caster sugar

175g ground almonds

50g plain flour

4 eggs

4tbsp brandy

for the tart -

200g shortcrust pastry

2 tbsp raspberry jam

225g soft pitted prunes

10g flaked almonds

frangipane mix (above)

1. Firstly, pre heat the oven to 180°c. Cream the butter and sugar in a mixer to make the frangipane, until almost white. In a separate bowl, mix the flour and ground almonds. Add one egg to the butter and sugar, one at a time, with a tbsp of ground almond and flour mix. Once all the eggs have been added, drizzle in the brandy and continue to add the rest of the ground almond and flour mix.

2. Grease a 9-10" flan dish with a little butter, roll out the pastry and fill the dish. Spread the raspberry jam over the bottom and then pour in the frangipane mix. Finish by sitting the prunes on the top.

3. Bake in the oven for 30-35 minutes. Half way through cooking, sprinkle the frangipane with almond flakes and return it to the oven.

Allow to cool before serving. Try it with yoghurt, cream or ice cream.Any leftover pastry or frangipane (depending on the size of your dish) can be used to make a smaller frangipane.